why does hair hang in strings?

[share801]

I have noticed my fine wavy hair hangs together to about my shoulders, then straggles in thin wavy strands to my waist. It didn't seem like it used to hang so awkwardly. Its kinda like having fairytale ends that start a good 12 inches or so before the actual ends. I just had a cut hoping that would help, but it didn't. Suggestions?

[lizzyjo]

Hmm, are the ends oily? Do you use any products on your hair?

[Gumball]

Could hair with a similar wave pattern be clumping together? That's what happens to my hair when it's down and the rare times when it is not combed. That can also be the reason why a curly-haired person gets nice and fluffy when you comb them out. The hair with similar wave/curl patterns is no longer grouped together with their like strands so they go about their business individually and make room for a party of one. Like your strands of hair could be wrapped in group hugs.

[vampodrama]

I think it might also be a fine hair thing. My hair is relatively straight, yet very stringy (when I comb my hair, the effect lasts about 5 minutes, when I sit still and don't move my head). It's just something I have to live with, I guess.

[camara]

I believe what Gumball says is true. Strings are the `curl´ formation of the wavies and straighties. Maybe fine hair adds to the effect, since there is less hair to spread out over your back. :shrug:

[Katze]

I think it might also be a fine hair thing. My hair is relatively straight, yet very stringy (when I comb my hair, the effect lasts about 5 minutes, when I sit still and don't move my head). It's just something I have to live with, I guess.

Mine does exactly the same. It only looks good for a few minutes after combing, unless it is very freshly washed and/or has product (hair gel) in it to keep the strings hanging together.

Oiling makes it stringy, as does going more than 5 days without washing. However, if I want to put my hair up or in braids that look halfway good (see profile pic) I have to do it on unwashed hair...

I do find that freshly washed hair is fluffier, so less stringy, but with my fine wavy hair I also have to keep it moisturized so it is a very, very fine line between enough moisture and stringiness.

A small amount of leave in (Goth Rosary, Fox's conditioner...) mixed with hair gel helps, as does VERY LIGHT oiling...

[Katrina]

I think it might also be a fine hair thing. My hair is relatively straight, yet very stringy It's just something I have to live with, I guess.

I second vampodrama. When shorter, my hair was less stringy. The stringiness started when I was beyond waist. I think that it just happens to us fine haired people. :shrug:

[share801]

Thank you for the replies. It is nice to know I'm not alone. It hangs "together" about 2 minutes after combing if I don't move.

[Wind Dragon]

My hair is also perma-layered, starts tapering about three inches off my scalp. I always figured that clumping effect was because there's safety in numbers. :gabigrin:

I've grown to like it when it's actually wavy at the ends. When they just hang there like that, though, eh -- not so much.

[ktani]

It happens to my hair too when there is too much catnip on the length. Catnip contains oil. It is a question of balance, from my experience. Clean hair vs anything that "coats it", whether it is a product that contains oil or another coating like silicone or polymers in conditioners or film formers ending in cellulose.

[share801]

Hmm, mine does it with and without any products. Its definitely wavy all the way down.

[Periwinkle]

I've always thought it's because curly/wavy hair doesn't all exactly match (on curly hair, you can quite clearly see the separation between the curls). Where the strands all line up, you get a string (or, on curly hair, a distinct curl). If you comb your hair, you're mussing up all the alignment so it gets rid of the stringyness, and if you go a while without washing, then there's more grease and that probably helps the hair to form strings.

[flapjack]

Yeah... all hair types do this or don't do this, depending on how "coated" the hair is, I agree with ktani. There's not much you can do about it except look for a way to make your hair clean and not weighed down by any conditioner, oil, etc. but moisturized at the same time. And I think that some days... no matter what you do... you will just have a "bad" hair day and it will happen because of the weather or some other factor. It's just part of life. I know people with insanely thick, completely coarse hair and it still does the string thing. I know people with super fine and very thin hair that doesn't form strings at all. So it varies. But with time, you'll probably figure out what works on your own hair. It's a constant experiment, haha.

[ktani]

Cosmetic companies are putting more conditioner type ingredients in shampoos these days too. So you can wash your hair and get shampoo "coatings" that are unexpected.

I have coatings in quotations because I define them a little differently than perhaps most people define them. Anything that you put on your hair that is not rinsed off can be a coating. Coatings are also left behind when rinsed off the hair. Some though are not washed away with the next cleansing or shampoo. Those are the ones that build-up.